Lawn seeder



July 10, 1951` R. N. DOBLE 2,560,093

- LAWN SEEDER Filed May 6v, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l8 3 10 4 7\ la IN V EN TOR.

July 10, 1951 v R. N. DOBLE 2,560,093

' LAWN SEEDEIR Filed May 6, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.v

UNITED STATES TEN T OFFICE 2,550,09s

LAWN sEEDEni Ralph-N. noble, Hingham, Application May 6,1949, seraiv No. 91,795

3l Claims.` (el. 222-193) This inventionL relates to a-device for delivering granular material in the form of a spray, and while the invention is capable of thus deliveri-ng various kinds of granular material, yet it has been especially designed Yas a hand lawn seeder by which grass seed can bev spreadon lawns or small plots of ground.

1`n the care of lawns it is often desirable to add grass seed to certain portions of the lawnv where the turf is' thin, or perhaps to re-seedentirely such portions of the lawn. Because of the minute size of grass seed, is is difficult, if not impossible', to Spread? the seed. evenly over the ground surface by sifting. it. through ones fingers. When this procedure is followed, .the grass seed is almost certain to be deposited on the groundyery uneveri'ly'sotliat in some areas the seed will be all together too thick and i-n other areas there may be littleor no seed.

It is, therefore, one object of my invention' to provide a portable hand seeder by which' grass seedor' other similar granular material cari be evenly spread over the ground surface.

A furtherA object of the .invention is toprov'i'de adevice of-this type which isisirnple in construe'- tion and inexpensive to manufacture, andiwhich can be easily and successfully used by anyone.

As stated above, while the device has been especially designed for scattering or sowing grass seed, yet it is equally applicable for scattering or sowing other granular material such for instance as chemical fertilizer, insecticide, etc.

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a selected embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a side View of a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section through the closure element on the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section through the closure on the line 4 4, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5, Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the device operates to deliver the grass seed or other granular material in spray form.

Fig. 6 shows the manner in which the device is used for scattering grass seed on a lawn.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 3 3, Fig. 2 showing the device in use.

The device comprises a container I for the grass seed or other granular material and a closure element 2 by which the open end of the container is closed. Said closure element may be in the form of a screw cap having a skirt portion 3 provided with an inclined screw thread rib 4 adapted to have screw threadedengagement with a complemental groove formed in the neck ofthe container.

'Ifhe closure 2 is formed with a body portion 5 that is provided with a centralY opening E, said body portion being deformed to presen-t an outwardly directed cfurbor flange 'i' that' surreds the opening 5. Tlie closure 2r is also formeelA with a hood' members which' enclo'ses'tlie pen'ingt' and thecrb 'l b`ut4`s` spaced therefrom'. Tli'sL hod 23A presents" an' end fafc'e' or wall 9 and 'a side wan le which' is" permanentiy secured to' the body portion "5' and is spaced from the side' of the flange. For this purpose the' edge of thev sideA wall Hl isA shown as presenting a flange II which rests on thebodyr and is spot welded thereto asA india'ted'at I2. 'I-her end wall '9 of the hood 8` isspacedfrom the edgey o'f the cure 'I' as indica-ted at `I 3 and Athe side" wall II of tliehoocl-'forms withthe curb' 'I an annular pasA sage Illf- The' body portion 5 forms a-p'arttionv between the space withinl the skirt portionY and the annular passage IQ;

' The side wall Il] of thefhood is formed withVv a discharge opening I5- through whiclrthe granular' material isdischarged in spray' ferm. When the' cciiitainery is heldriifii invertedpdsitionas* showin in Fig. 6, the grass seed or other granular material will gravitate through the opening 6 within the hood and will flow into and'partially ll the annular passage I4 as shown in Fig. 7.

Means are provided for giving the granular material in the passage I4 a rapid circulating motion through the passage, and during such motion a certain proportion of the granular material will be thrown out through the discharge opening I5 by centrifugal force and in the form of a spray as illustrated in Fig. 5.

As a convenient means for thus giving the grass seed or other granular material its rapid circulatory movement on the passage It, I propose to use a device for delivering air under pressure into said passage le tangentially thereof. For this purpose there is provided a hand operated bulb I6 which is connected by a flexible pipe section Il with a nipple I8 that is screwed to the wall I0 of the hood member 8, the nipple being so mounted that the air blast which is delivered therethrough when the bulb I6 is squeezed will have a direction tangential to the annular passage I. To facilitate this the side wall I0 of the hood is rnade with the outwardly displaced portion I9 which presents a wall section 20 that is tangential with the circular portion of the side wall I0.

Each time that the bulb I6 is squeezed, the blast of air which is delivered through the nipple I8 will cause a rapid circulatory movement of the grass seed or other granular material in the passage I4 which will result in such grass seed or granular material being sprayed through the discharge opening l5 partly by the centrifugal force to which the circulating granular material is subjected, and partly by the air which escapes through said discharge opening each time the bulb is squeezed. The device is very easy to manipulate, because the operator may easily hold the container l in one hand while he squeezes the bulb I6 Withthe other as illustrated in Fig. 6 and by means of this device, the grass seed can be easily and evenly spread over any desired portion of a lawn.

I claim:

1. A device for sowing grass seed comprising a container for the grass seed to be spread, a closure therefor at the lower end thereof, said closure comprising a body portion having a central opening communicating with the interior of the container` and surrounded by an outwardly directed annular ange and a hood element enclosing said ange but spaced therefrom both at its sides and at its edge and having a side wall that forms with the iiange an annular passage, said hood element having a discharge opening in its side wall, and means to cause a rapid circulating movement of said granular material throughout said annular passage whereby during such circulating movement the material Will be ejected through the discharge opening by centrifugal force.

2. A device for spreading grass seed comprising a container for the grass seed provided with an open lower end, a closure for closing the said open end, said closure having a partition provided with an opening communicating with the interior of the container and having an outwardly extending flange surrounding said opening, said closure also having a hood element enclosing said flange and presenting a side Wall spaced from the side face of the ange and an endv wall spaced from the edge of the ange, said side Wall having a discharge opening and forming with the flange an annular passage which surrounds said opening, a hand-operated bulb, and means connecting said bulb to the hood element for delivery of an air blast into the annular passage in a direction tangential thereto, Whereby such air blast produces a circulatory movement of the grass seed in said passage which results in the grass seed being sprayed through the discharge opening.

3. A device for dispensing granular material in the form of a spray comprising a container body open at its lower end, a closure for said open end provided with a transverse partition having a central opening communicating with the interior of the container body and also having an annular outwardly directed flange surrounding said opening, said closure presenting an annular side wall encircling said flange but spaced therefrom to provide therewith an annular passage surrounding the ilange, and also presenting an end wall spaced from the edge of the flange, said side wall of the closure having a discharge opening communicating with the annular passage, and means to deliver air under pressure into said annular passage in a direction tangential thereto, whereby the granular material will be circulated rapidly around said air passage and will be delivered through the discharge opening partll7 by centrifugal force and partly by the air current.

RALPH N. DOBLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 600,547 Mazzanovich Mar. 15, 1898 913,816 Eckhardt Mar. 2, 1909 1,458,341 Hebert June 12, 1923 1,554,991 Crowley Sept. 29, 1925 2,131,796 Day Oct. 4, 1938 2,214,083 Lester Sept. 10, 1940 2,336,873 Lindberg Dec. 14, 1943 2,362,351 Burmeister et al. Nov. 7, 1944 

